Marcus Straub owns Life is Great! Inc. in Grand Junction. His personalized coaching and consulting services help individuals, business owners, executives and companies build teams, organizations and lives that are filled with happiness and success. He is the winner of the 2011 International Coach of the Year Award, and is also the author of “Is It Fun Being You?.” He is available for free consultations regarding coaching, speaking and trainings. Reach Straub by phone at 208-3150, by e-mail at marcus@lifeisgreatcoaching.com or on the website at www.lifeisgreatcoaching.com.

In my previous column, I elaborated on several potential negative side effects associated with bringing personal baggage to work. I described the fall even long-term top performers experience when they’re unable to effectively manage personal issues in the workplace. I also explored the domino effect these uncontrolled issues can have on fellow team members, customers […]

Business owners, managers and anyone else in leadership roles exert the largest influence — positive or negative — in the workplace. Team members look to these individuals for direction and guidance. When leaders become lost in their own personal issues or are unable to separate from them on the job, teams are affected to some […]

One of the biggest differences between creating raving fans out of your customers or not is getting the multitude of basic things right on a consistent basis. Just a moment of reflection on your own experiences will reveal your favorite businesses — the ones you frequent often and enthusiastically tell others about — are those […]

You’ve likely heard the saying, “Hire for skills and fire for attitude.” Simply put, this means bad attitudes far outweigh the skills people bring to their positions. Failing to take action puts companies at risk. The typical business has a number of skilled team members, many with decent and even great attitudes. These individuals come […]

All staffs are comprised of people with varying levels of knowledge, skills and attitudes. As the team goes, so goes the business. For any company to grow and generate success for everyone involved, its people must also grow and develop their potential. When personal and professional growth and development is lacking, people become limited by […]

A shared purpose constitutes a powerful starting point to a more enlivened, satisfying and successful business operation. Purpose is not what a company does or even how it does it. A clearly defined purpose is a statement of why a company and its team do what they do day in and day out. It’s their […]

A critical step in creating greater happiness and success in business is learning to delegate effectively so everyone involved is empowered to do more and be more. As a business owner, you have two options: Have you merely created a job for yourself or are you truly leading your company? There’s a distinct difference. In […]

Most business owners start their ventures to create greater wealth, freedom and happiness — to control their own destinies. They dream of achieving financial, professional and personal independence and use this to travel, relax, give back and enjoy their lives as much as possible. Many owners never fully realize their dreams even if their businesses […]

Chances are, you’ve endured an unsavory experience as a consumer. You’ve been treated poorly during the course of a business transaction and likely more than once. Now consider: Did these experiences interrupt the pleasant flow of your day? Did you receive the value you were looking for? How did they make you feel? Were you […]

Every business I work with has at some point experienced challenging and unpleasant issues with its team members. A reality for every business is the potential for individuals to interrupt the smooth and effective operation of the company and harm the work environment. Team members of this caliber typically don’t handle themselves or their positions […]